OLYMPIA — W.F. West and Centralia each had a champion and advanced three players to districts at the sub-district girls tennis tournament at Steamboat Island tennis club here on Tuesday.
Centralia’s Carissa Kaut captured the singles title. Kaut faced Tumwater’s Kailey Hickey in the finals, winning 6-3, 6-3.
“Carissa stayed in control of points throughout her match and Kailey was great competition,” Centralia coach Deb Keahey said. “I was proud of Carissa's steady game and smart play.”
In doubles, Maddie Corwin and Liza Hopkins started the day against Black Hills’ Abby Calvert and Selina Ryser, winning two close sets, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). Corwin and Hopkins went up against Josie Grimm and Ari Kee in the third place match, with Grimm and Kee earning the victory due to already having defeated Corwin and Hopkins earlier in the tournament.
“I voiced my displeasure with that rule, but was outvoted by my coaching peers,” Keahey said. “I personally think we should play it out like they do in districts and state. That gives our girls more tournament experience.”
W.F. West’s Sydney Cameron and Jisu Han captured the doubles title. The duo went up against Tumwater’s Sophia Koelsch and Abby Bond, winning in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“Give Tumwater credit, they totally changed what they were doing. A lot of lobs, primarily keep the ball away from Sydney the most experienced singles player in the league,” W.F. West coach Jack State said. “They made Jisu have to play more balls. We talked about playing up to competition, Jisu got tentative instead of aggressively going to things...they got back to our aggressive behavior in the third set. They didn’t wait for them to lose, they went and took it.”
W.F. West’s Claire Kuykendall started the day against Black Hills’ Makenna Beeson, earning a win in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The win put Kuykendall in the third place match against Tumwater’s Courtney Borovec, with Kuykendall winning in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“She’s only played six singles matches in her life, She just did a wonderful job, she has a ton to learn. You can see that she has a really good feel for the game,” W.F. West coach Jack State said. “I couldn’t be happier, that’s a huge accomplishment for a freshman to make it in singles.”
Tiana Jeffries and Stephanie Drummond fell in their opening match of the day to Grimm and Kee, 6-3, 6-2. The loss put the duo against Calvert and Ryser in the fifth place match, with Calvert and Ryser earning fifth due to already earning a win over Drummond and Jeffires earlier in the tournament, with Drummond and Jeffries finishing sixth. The duo will be an alternate for the district tournament.
The six qualified players will travel to the Vancouver Tennis Center next Friday and Saturday to compete in the District 4 2A girls tennis tournament.
